Gestonurse

Abstract

A novel multimodal robotic scrub nurse (RSN) system for the operating room (OR) is presented. The RSN assists the main surgeon by passing surgical instruments. Experiments were conducted to test the system with speech and gesture modalities and average instrument acquisition times were compared. Experimental results showed that 97% of the gestures were recognized correctly under changes in scale and rotation and that the multimodal system responded faster than the unimodal systems. A relationship similar in form to Fitts's law for instrument picking accuracy is also presented.